New FEMA guidelines prompt concerns

Published: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 11:13 p.m.

Members of the state's congressional delegation reacted with expected dismay as the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave homeowners some clue into how much flood insurance will cost once reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program are in place.

On Wednesday, FEMA released guidelines for how flood insurance rates will be calculated under the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012. That legislation, approved by the entire congressional delegation last summer, set in place reforms local government officials fear will cause flood insurance to be unaffordable.

“I remain very concerned about the impacts these rate increases will have on homeowners and small businesses throughout the nation,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “The data presented today underscores the affordability issues that I have been concerned about since Biggert Waters first came to the floor for a vote last summer.”

The guidance issued Wednesday is a set of highly technical considerations and calculations used to derive a structure's flood insurance costs. Local officials said they were working to understand the new information Wednesday evening.

“This puts it out there and again you look at the data, it is not simple man. It is going to take statisticians and actuaries to make it understandable,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, as he left a town hall meeting in Gray. Cassidy represents northern portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

FEMA's guidance does give two examples. For a two-story home with $200,000 of coverage with its lowest floor three feet below FEMA's prescribed elevation, known as base-flood elevation, the annual rate will be $5,676. The rate is likely to be higher for a single-story structure at the same elevation.

Another example tells of the owner of a two-story home six feet above the prescribed elevation paying a little less than $1,000 annually.

Most home owners will face the new rates once their parish accepts FEMA's new flood maps. These maps are important because they set FEMA's prescribed elevation for each structure in the parish. The further below that elevation the structure is, the higher the rate will be.

Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes have appealed their new flood maps and are awaiting a pilot study to incorporate local flood protection into the maps. Local parish officials feel that process could last two years.

“This is especially critical as FEMA begins to fully implement its LAMP (Levee Analysis and Mapping Procedure) process. FEMA, through LAMP, needs to ensure appropriate credit is given to community flood protection standards and features that offset flood risk and therefore reduce the cost of flood insurance for Louisiana homes and businesses,” Cassidy said a news release Wednesday.

Both Cassidy and Landrieu have legislation filed to delay issuing of new flood maps though the process for Lafourche and Terrebonne is expected to take even longer than the proposed delay.

Most homeowners will see new rates because of the removal of grandfathering, the process by which homeowners kept premiums tied to the elevation FEMA prescribed at the time of construction. Biggert-Waters removes grandfathering, meaning when a parish accepts new flood maps, rates will be adjusted reflect the maps' new elevations.

Public officials bemoan this because many will see rate increases with new maps although they built to FEMA's prescribed elevation at the time.

As of now, there is no legislation being processed that would reinstate grandfathering.

<p>Members of the state's congressional delegation reacted with expected dismay as the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave homeowners some clue into how much flood insurance will cost once reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program are in place.</p><p>On Wednesday, FEMA released guidelines for how flood insurance rates will be calculated under the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012. That legislation, approved by the entire congressional delegation last summer, set in place reforms local government officials fear will cause flood insurance to be unaffordable.</p><p>“I remain very concerned about the impacts these rate increases will have on homeowners and small businesses throughout the nation,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “The data presented today underscores the affordability issues that I have been concerned about since Biggert Waters first came to the floor for a vote last summer.”</p><p>The guidance issued Wednesday is a set of highly technical considerations and calculations used to derive a structure's flood insurance costs. Local officials said they were working to understand the new information Wednesday evening.</p><p>“This puts it out there and again you look at the data, it is not simple man. It is going to take statisticians and actuaries to make it understandable,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, as he left a town hall meeting in Gray. Cassidy represents northern portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.</p><p>FEMA's guidance does give two examples. For a two-story home with $200,000 of coverage with its lowest floor three feet below FEMA's prescribed elevation, known as base-flood elevation, the annual rate will be $5,676. The rate is likely to be higher for a single-story structure at the same elevation.</p><p>Another example tells of the owner of a two-story home six feet above the prescribed elevation paying a little less than $1,000 annually.</p><p>Most home owners will face the new rates once their parish accepts FEMA's new flood maps. These maps are important because they set FEMA's prescribed elevation for each structure in the parish. The further below that elevation the structure is, the higher the rate will be.</p><p>Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes have appealed their new flood maps and are awaiting a pilot study to incorporate local flood protection into the maps. Local parish officials feel that process could last two years. </p><p>“This is especially critical as FEMA begins to fully implement its LAMP (Levee Analysis and Mapping Procedure) process. FEMA, through LAMP, needs to ensure appropriate credit is given to community flood protection standards and features that offset flood risk and therefore reduce the cost of flood insurance for Louisiana homes and businesses,” Cassidy said a news release Wednesday.</p><p>Both Cassidy and Landrieu have legislation filed to delay issuing of new flood maps though the process for Lafourche and Terrebonne is expected to take even longer than the proposed delay. </p><p>Most homeowners will see new rates because of the removal of grandfathering, the process by which homeowners kept premiums tied to the elevation FEMA prescribed at the time of construction. Biggert-Waters removes grandfathering, meaning when a parish accepts new flood maps, rates will be adjusted reflect the maps' new elevations. </p><p>Public officials bemoan this because many will see rate increases with new maps although they built to FEMA's prescribed elevation at the time. </p><p>As of now, there is no legislation being processed that would reinstate grandfathering.</p>